Fence.



Y P. I. HINDMARSH.

FENCE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. Il, 1914.

i Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

PERCY J. HINDMARSH, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN STEEL & WIRE COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY, OE HOBOKEN, NEW ERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. i .l v f To all whom t 'mayl concern Be it knownthat i I, PEnCY J. HINDMARSH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county ofnLancaster and State-otl Nebraska, have invented certainV new and useful Improvements in- Fences, and do hereby-declare that the following is afull,fclear, and exact description Yof the same,-retereuceV being had to thel annexed drawings',making-a -part of this specification, and tothe letters and Vlgures of reference marked thereon. Y

My inventionrelates to the construction of wire fence,a`nd Ain particularhas todo with thatv type of construction wherein the tightening of the Awires isiac'compl'shed'by theretationcf the fence post, and the' object of my invention, generallystated, is to provide such aconstruction-as lwill'be thoroughlyv practical in yits-ability to eiect the desired tightening of the wires, eilicient in maintaining the wires in a stretched conditionand adaptablefwithout change of struc- Y ture to fences of diiferentlheighu'and for the attainment of this object and the securing of other yobjects; which will appear on the full disclosure of my -invention,-the lat;

Y ter consistsinthe construction substantially as hereinafter-specified and claimed.

In the drawings-f` V r f VFigure 1 -isa perspectiveV view ofv aportion of a' fencevembodying myiinvention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionthrough thelower portion-of the post; yFigr is a detail viewin perspective of aY portion of thevpost illustratin'g themeans by which I effect the securing of the wires to the post after lthe wires lhave been stretched.

Y Myp'ostlO is roundV in cross section, and

if desired may consist Yotra length *of iiron pipe having a vertical' row of transverse holes 11 in that portion'which is, or may bel above the surface ofthe ground .through certain ones of which theV endportions of aroundl therpost and thereby: the wires the fence wires 12' arepassed, or threaded. The outer ends of theholes are preferably beveled, or countersunk so as to avoid sharp edges vwhich `might cut the wire, or causev such abrupt bending thereof as to weaken thewire and render likely its rbreakage.` The wires yloeing passed diametricallyv through the vpost it will be seen that by revolvingthe pstf'thefwires `will -be`-wrappe`d, or coiled FENCE. i i i Specicaton of LettersdIPate-nt. 1 Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

v Application led. December 11, 1914. VSerial No. 876,688. 'i

stretched. A sufficientamount of each wire at the end is carried beyond the Vpost when threaded through an opening thereingso as to provide a length of free wire, which, after the' wire 'has been tightened, `or stretchedf to' the desired extent may be wrapped, or tied around'the horizontal portion l ot' the stretchedl wire contiguous to the post and -thereby .thewire tightly secured in its stretched condition. The wire when thus tied is not allowed to extend tangentially of the post,'but radially therefrom so as t0 remove'the tendency ofthe stretched wire, to revolve the post under lits pullwand thereby result in lslacking the wire. By havingfthe wire, when finally tied, or secured, as described, extend radially Afrom 'the Ypost and as the wire is wrapped around the post, itwill be seen that Vthe tendency of the stretched wire to rotate the post is. elilni` nated, and, hence, by this/very simpledevice the great twisting,ior torsional strains onthe post fromtlie numerous highly stretched wires isavoided, `and at the fsame time anV extraholdingi device, suchfas'ratchet and pawl (which experience has shownto be in? suliicient) 1s rendered unnecessary. To

change'the position' of the wire from one u tied, or wrapped. This operation, asV will bel evident, increases, or tends to increase the tension of the wire, as itsstraightcondi-` tion is changed to a slightly bent'one.

Toprovide a bearing for the post in which it may be revolved totighten the wires, I

employ two sleeves, one'ljat the` lower end ofV the'post and the other 16 higher'upV whosetop is at, or just a little above'the ground line, andV vboth or" lwhich are lem#v beddedin a slug, or block 17 of concrete. The upper sleeve. has radial wings, or `fins' 1S`for interlocking-'it in the body of cement,

and if desired the lower` sleeve may besinnla'rly equipped. The lowerYA sleeve'l' has its the lifting of the post, the cap, or housing protecting the nut from the concrete and thus assuring that. the nut will revolve when the post is revolved. v

Although the portion of the post between the 'two sleeves is inclosed by concrete, yetl the grip of the concrete is so slight that the post may be freely turned. A very important advantage results from using the two sleevesk as the journals, or bearings for the post instead of a single sleeve, in that the cost is materially reduced, since much less .metal is required, the 'amount of metal saved being equal to the distance between the two sleeves and the extent of projection of the post above the ground may be varied to suit the height of thefence, the portion of the post below the ground varying obviously according to the amount above the ground, and .it being necessary merely to space the two sleeves according to the length of the portion of the post within the ground. Should a single'sleeve be used it is obvious an assortment of sleeves would be required according to the extent of the post below the ground. For revolving the post I form its upper end into an angular head 21, preferablyl hexagonal, and I apply to it a wrench consisting of a plate 22 having a hole 23 to fit the angular head of the post and a horizontal socket 24 to receive -a lever 25 by which it may -b'e revolved. Experience has shown that a mere threaded connection between the post-'turning lever and the post, is impracticable because the great strain resulting from turning the post to tighten the wires strips off the thread, or twists off the top of they post which happens in consequence of the weakening of the post by the depth of the thread, but by my angular head and wrench construction the post may be readily revolved without any breaking, or giving away. Moreover, the integral angular head permits the post to be turned in either direction,` whereas, with a threaded device it can be turned only in the one direction for a threaded device turned in one direction would unscrew. n

I provide a brace to support thel post against the pull of the stretched wires, said brace consisting of a bar 26 which may consist of a length of ypipe that .inclines from,

a point of contact `with the post a suitable distance above the ground downward to an anchor27 driven into the ground and having at'the surface thereof a horizontal. flange 28 to form an extended bearing to sustain the thrusttransmitted thereto from the lowerend of the brace, the anchor having above ring, lor collarlf which zencircles the post:

and which is left in a loose condition on the post while the wires are beingv tightened, but is afterward tightly clampedto `the post'.y Vhile in its loose condition and during tightening of the wires,tlie collar is prevented moving upward on the post by a spike, or nail passed above the salme through i one of the post holes 1l.v The brace anchor is extended a short distance above the flange and the bearing point of the brace rod and a at its upper end has an eye 32 to receive one hooked end of a tension rod 33 whosev other hooked end is engaged. in an eye 34, at, or: near the top of the `uppersleeve 16. The

tension rod supports the brace anchor against the outward thrust ofY the brace and d;

by liftingfthe -point of connection of the tension rodwith the anchorwaboverthe pointy of application of thrust of the brace, 4the strain on the tension rod is reduced. The

brace anchor, of course, takes care of both the horizontal, or lateral and vertical com;y

ponents of the thrust of the brace. y

Having thus describedA my invention 'what I claim is- `l. In a fence structure,the coifnbination"ofl i a post adapted for rotation on its longitudi';

nal axis, the lowerv end .of which is Vcircular in cross section, and a plurality of sleeves adapted to coperate with and act as bearings for said circular lower end portion,

said sleeves being located below the ground1 line and beingspaced apart vertically, substantially as described.

2. In a fence structure, the combination of a post adapted forfrotation on 'its longitu#V dinal axis, the lower endof which is circular in cross section, and a :plurality of sleeves adapted tok coperatezwith and actas bear-` ings for said circular lower endportion, said ous thereto being embedded in a body of con-b crete, substantially as described.

3. A wire fence post that is rotatably sup 'i ported -in bearings consisting ,of separate sleeves applied to different portions of thepost .belowl the ground line, said sleeves and the portion of the post contiguous-thereto" being embedded in a body of concrete, the

post having below the lower sleeve a stop consisting of an enlargement of the lower end ofthe post, and the lower sleeve having a housing for saidenlargement. f

4. A wire fence post that is rotatably supported in bearings consisting offseparate sleeves applied to different portions of the post below the ground line, said sleeves and the portion of the post contiguous-.thereto being embedded in a body of concrete, the post having below the lowersleeve a stop consisting of an enlargement ofV thelowerl end of the post,and the lower sleeve having a housing for said enlargement, the post free ends of the Wires being wrapped around 1o above the ground having an angular turnthe same'contiguous to the post. ing head adapted to receive a turning In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature Wrench. in presence of tWo Witnesses.

5 5. The combination of a rotatable fence PERCY J HINDMARSH post having spaced Wire-receiving openings, and Wires in said openings, said Wires hav- Witnesses: ing portions Wound around the post and ex- HARVEY ENGLAND, tending in radial lines from the post, the F. N. EDWARDS.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

